AmateurRadio.com

It would seem that software and ham radio can get along very well and there is an abundance of software out there to choose from. Some software is free other are available for a price, I have both here at VE3WDM. There seems to be some myths about both the free software and the software for a price. Regarding the free software I have read and heard.....
1.  It's no good as it's not supported.
2. Since it's free it must be very simple and buggy
3. I am sure it's not updated.

As for the software for a price I have heard and read......
1.It's way over priced.
2.Why pay when free software is out there?
3. Someone is just trying to make a buck.



I have both free and software I had to paid for and am very happy with both products. My software is not  the be all and end all but it's what works for me. There is some fantastic software out there that can make you grow in your ham radio journey. I hope to just excite  you to look to see what is out there.
Here is what I use and as most ham I know they love free stuff and here is the free software I use.

1. DXlabs for my every day radio adventures I am sold on DX Labs! This software has rig control, logging, world map view of DX, QRZ (and many more) look up feature and much more. With this software and with the click of a mouse able to use many features of my K3. At a glance I am able see on a world map DX spots, I am told if  I worked this country before....on what band.....and what mode. There is a huge amount this free software can do. As for updates it seems that it's almost daily this software is improving. Oh and as a side note updates are a breeze to instal and no need to jump through hoops to get the latest and greatest upgrade. If you are not sure about a feature or if the software does not seem to be doing what it should, support is fast and readily available on the internet.

 2. If you are into contesting (like me) then once again the free stuff comes to the rescue. N1MM seems to be one of the staples for contesting. Again it has rig control features, CW and SSB features, VFO A and B control, spotting networks this is just to name a few things this amazing software can do.
There are regular updates and bugs are very few and far between. Again if you have troubles the support is there and it's fast.
 
Ok lets talk crazy now.....paying for ham software

1. When contesting I said I use N1MM but I also use a rig control program by N4PY and it's not free but WOW does it enhance my contesting. (now this software is not only for contesting I just chose to use it this way) This program allows me to adjust most of my Elecraft K3 controls with the mouse or keyboard. I can used my K1EL keyer, this program allowed me to use my Flexcontrol knob.

2. Another program I dished out some coin for and never looked back is MRP40 cw decoding program. Now I know what your thinking "there are lots of free CW decoding programs out there" This is true I have tried them and they are good BUT MRP40 is GREAT. In contesting when the speeds get to what I call "crazy speeds" this program has no trouble at all decoding them. 

Lets say  you want to have multiple programs work together without a hitch.........

 3. Then LP Bridge or  VSP manager come to the rescue. These are free programs and will allow your computer to set up virtual ports thus having multiple programs working at the same time and talking to each other. These programs work like a dream and as far as my needs go no bugs at all.

4. If you are into the digi modes like I was and in the near future hope to be there is a free program called Quickmix. This program will remember all the audio settings you use for each digi mode, so for example when operating PSK and you want to now switch to WSJT-X which has new audio settings for you PC. You no longer have to remember them Quickmix can in the blink of an eye adjust the sound card to the new settings for the selected digi mode!!


Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

Even with a busy schedule, I am trying to make time for a few on-air activities and these might also interest others.

On Sunday, 4 August listen for Amateur Radio Fun in the Colorado Mountains or perhaps better known as the Colorado 14’er Event.  Hams from all around Colorado will climb many of the 14,000 foot mountains (known as 14’ers) as well as other SOTA summits to setup amateur radio stations and get on the air from the top of the world (or at least the top of Colorado).  This event started in 1991 by Bob Witte, KØNR and 20+ years later it is still a popular activity. 

2012 was the first year this 14’er event incorporated the over 1700 SOTA qualified summits in the state.  For those who want to chase from the comfort of their home ham shack, keep in mind that not all stations operating during this event will be doing so under the guidelines of SOTA. 

As for me, I plan to activate Genessee Mountain, W0/FR-194 and make it a combined amateur radio outing and picnic with my wife.   Genessee Mountain is an “two pointer” SOTA summit with easy access to the top and will be a nice, relaxing morning in the Rocky Mountains.

Just a few days after the 14’er event, my wife and I leave for an almost 3 week vacation in her home country of Belgium and England.   It’s been a long, rough and difficult first half of 2013 and we are both looking forward to our vacation.

Once we return from vacation I’ll have less than 36 hours to prepare for the Colorado QSO Party.  You might remember last summer I was working at a feverish pace to get the new basement ham shack finished for the 2012 Colorado QSO party.  Last year I made 281 contacts and my goal for 2013 is to try to break that number while having fun doing it.

The Colorado QSO party takes place starting 12oo UTC 31 August until 0400 UTC 1 September (Saturday 6 AM – 10 PM MDT) and is sponsored by the Pikes Peak Radio Amateur Association. 

Keep your ears open towards Colorado and I hope to work you in either or both events. 

Until next time…

73 de KDØBIK (Jerry)

Jerry Taylor, KD0BIK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Colorado, USA. He is the host of the Practical Amateur Radio Podcast. Contact him at [email protected].

I do love my radio. I really enjoy getting on air and always like the qso’s I have, even the rubber stamp ones. But recently, I’ve started to think about other aspects. The cost of equipment is one such thing (I’ve blithered on about that before) and the other is that in general you don’t see a very diverse age group in the hobby. There are you people who get into it through a number of different means and I’m fairly sure many drop the mic / key / keyboard. I suspect that getting on air is a costly business and that the pub may be a more alluring draw. A large portion of the people I have met or are involved with Ham Radio are ‘of a certain age’ ; i.e not in the 16-24 year old bracket. A bracket that I left behind nearly 20 years ago.

So I thought I’d write to the RSGB to see what their thoughts were and they decided to publish my letter. I didn’t offer any solutions but merely an opportunity to open the debate. I think its safe to say that the door has been shut now. The response to the letter was fairly swift and I read it is ‘We’re doing alright’. I remain unconvinced. I am very disappointed that they seem reluctant to grasp the nettle.

I’m a clanky by trade and the IMechE (along with just about every other professional body no doubt) make it part of your chartership that you must spend time mentoring the next generation. I spent 2 years teaching to 6th form students and thoroughly enjoyed it. Other ways include being on the young members board, who were represented at a national level. I firmly believe that the next generation is the key to this hobby and engaging them will bring us strength, diversity, enthusiasm and energy. I don’t know how much it costs to sponsor a trophy but I’ll be looking into it as a way reward the next generation. If there are any ideas I’d love to hear about them.

Alex Hill, G7KSE, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Cumbria, UK. Contact him at [email protected].

Kit Hall GM4EMX has sent details about a new unattended APRS iGate that will be located at his QTH in Aberdeen. The callsign will be MB7UAB.

Kit told me something I didn’t know about the allocation of callsigns for APRS stations in the UK.

• All APRS station callsigns start with MB7U (for Unconnected, I would guess.)
• A single letter following the U denotes a digipeater (e.g. our local digi MB7UQ)
• Two letters following the U denote an iGate.

I hope Kit’s new iGate will soon spark some activity in the Aberdeen area which up until now has been pretty much an APRS desert.

Julian Moss, G4ILO, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Cumbria, England. Contact him at [email protected].

I never did find out what was causing Google Chrome to crash so much on my computer. However, after several months of using Chrome I found Firefox rather slow and clunky. So I had a look round to see if there were any other browsers. It turned out that there were more alternatives than I ever imagined.

The first alternative browser I found was one called Avant. This is a powerful browser with a lot of configurability, developed by a Chinese programmer. It boasts the ability to render web pages using your choice of the Internet Explorer, Firefox or Chrome rendering engines, which is probably handy if you’re a website developer. I set it to use Chrome and it displayed the pages that had give me trouble with nary a murmur. But I found the user interface rather heavy after the minimalist approach of Google Chrome. So I kept it on my hard drive but carried on looking.

The next candidate I stumbled across was SRWare Iron. It almost counts as two browsers in one, as it installed two shortcuts on my desktop, one named SRWare Iron and one named Chromium, both pointing to the same executable. This turns out to be a browser built from the same open source code as Google’s Chrome by a German company. Germans seem to be a bit sensitive about privacy, so the main difference with this SRWare browser is that it does not send information about your browsing habits back to Google. What, you didn’t know Google Chrome did that? Neither did I until I discovered this program, though I thought I opted out of this during Chrome’s installation.

Apparently you can opt out of all the Google tracking if you choose the appropriate settings in Chrome, but most users won’t do this. So Iron / Chromium could be said to be a better version of Chrome than Google’s, certainly from the privacy point of view. Chrome extensions like AdBlock Plus work as with the real thing. Chromium even supports the ability to log in to your Google account to save and restore your bookmarks and other settings, which was very handy.  Try it, you’ll never notice the difference.

I’m happy with Chromium / Iron as my default web browser now. So far, it hasn’t crashed on me. But I also discovered another Chrome clone. It’s called Comodo Dragon and it’s made by the Comodo security company. Dragon is also built from the Chrome open source code and omits the Google tracking code, but it     has some extra security features added by Comodo. So it looks like an even better option if you are really privacy-conscious.

Julian Moss, G4ILO, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Cumbria, England. Contact him at [email protected].

A top o’ the callsign cap to Wey Walker K8EAB from the NoGa QRP group for pointing me towards this video by K7AGE:

Even if you don’t care for the subject matter, the music’s pretty catchy!

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

Larry Makoski, W2LJ, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Jersey, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

The folks at No Starch Press kindly sent me a copy of John Boxall’s Arduino Workshop. I opened the box with a little reluctance as it was roughly the fifth book on Arduino I’d read and none of them were very useful. I’m not an electrical engineer or computer programmer by trade (and I’m often jealous of the many hams who are who can throw together amazing things off the top of their head).

I’m happy to report that Arduino Workshop was the first book I’ve read that helped me really make sense of the practical applications the Arduino is capable of. I spent last night really thinking about what the difference is between those books, and this one. I came up with the answer. This book is the first one which provides real-life projects that seem to make sense in a broader context. Specifically, using the Arduino to solve a real problem or add depth to more mundane projects.

OK, it’s not the first book I’ve read on the Arduino that uses project examples. The difference is, this is the first book where the examples are something more intriguing than 1) build a LED that blinks, 2) watch it blink a lot, #) Yay, you’re done! If I can’t see applicability, my mind tunes out quickly. It’s OK to build a simple flashing LED as you’re beginning to learn, but it’s certainly not the nadir of all projects.

OK, take a look at the projects in this book. They’re just fun sounding!

• Creating a Blinking LED Wave
• Controlling Traffic (building a working traffic signal — one of my favorite projects!)
• Creating a Single-Cell Battery Tester
• Creating a Quick-Read Thermometer That Blinks the Temperature
• Creating a Temperature History Monitor
• Creating a Temperature Logging Device
• Creating a Keypad-Controlled Lock
• Building and Controlling a Tank Robot
• Creating an Accurate GPS-based Clock
• Building a Remote Control Thermometer
• Creating an Arduino Tweeter
• Building an Arduino Texter

These are only just a few of the projects. The cool part is it really gives you a foundation to build, say, an Arduino project that Tweets the temperature from a remote sensor.  You can see how the jump to Amateur Radio-related applications is not far at all.

Anyway, check out the book if you — like me — have been wanting to explore the Arduino but didn’t know where to start. This book gives you everything you need to go from zero to some pretty amazing projects!

If you’re looking to get started without buying the book, the author has a nice Arduino tutorial section on his website. Also, the publisher provides a sample chapter to see if the book might be for you. The book is available in both a print edition ($29.95) and ebook ($23.95). If you purchase the print edition on their website, you also get the ebook edition at no extra charge. If you haven’t had a chance, check out the official Arduino website. Another good resource is a Yahoo! group called HEAP (Hams Exploring Arduino Programming).

(Editor’s Note: Just got an e-mail from the No Starch Press. They created a coupon code for 30% off the print or ebook edition of Arduino Workshop. Enter ‘RADIO‘ in the coupon box at check-out on their website. Please note that other than receiving the book itself to review, we don’t receive a commission or other compensation.)

So, what are the coolest Amateur Radio-related projects you’ve built with Arduino?  Post in the comments below!

Matt Thomas, W1MST, is the managing editor of AmateurRadio.com. Contact him at [email protected].